tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-229378042024-03-06T20:23:48.628-08:00Grickle thingsgrickleguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16772984282658197030noreply@blogger.comBlogger193125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22937804.post-36028553219783172232018-04-27T10:17:00.000-07:002018-04-27T10:26:08.664-07:00Creating Peter & Ernesto!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I thought I'd take a moment and reflect. I'm not the best at reviewing and analyzing my process but I get asked enough about how did I make a graphic novel that I figured it may be wise to just write it all down here. As best as I remember it!<br />
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How did <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Peter-Ernesto-Tale-Two-Sloths/dp/1626725616">Peter & Ernesto</a> come to be an early reader's graphic novel published by the wonderful people at <a href="http://firstsecondbooks.com/">First Second</a>?<br />
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Well, it started with Goldilocks and the Three Bears I believe. I did a silent take on that classic story for the anthology title "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Fairy-Tale-Comics-Extraordinary-Cartoonists/dp/1596438231/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1524849607&sr=1-2&keywords=fairy+tale+comics">Fairy Tale Comics</a>" edited by Chris Duffy. It was published by First Second and so I lot of folks there quickly became familiar with my work and style. I suppose it also helped that I had been doing indie comics for the last decade or so before that too under the title of <a href="https://www.grickle.com/">Grickle</a>.<br />
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When I first set out to tell a story for younger readers I initially thought I would do a completely visual, wordless book. But I soon found that concept a bit daunting and in struggling with different ideas my thoughts became focused on Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel. The Frog and Toad stories are absolute classics in the kid lit world and rightly so. Their brilliant simplicity and complete sincerity are a wonder to behold. I wanted to see if I could create something in a comic format that would come even close to how good those books made me feel when I read them to my kids.<br />
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That is how Peter & Ernesto began. Two friends, much like Frog and Toad, working through problems together. I wanted a story that showed the differences in their approaches but emphasized an equal value in those different outlooks.<br />
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When I start to create a comic I usually build it up with little sketches and a lot of notes written around them. Stuff that pretty much only I could decipher.<br />
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Once I've got a general idea of a beginning, middle and end I doodle out really loose, tiny page layouts and try and push the story forward from start to finish. Usually a couple hours a night where I'll hammer out 3-4 page layouts and that's it. It's like eating a meal very slowly. Just small bites, then put down the fork and think about how that bit tasted. Wait a little bit and then begin a new bite until after a month or two and you've finished the meal.<br />
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These doodle layouts are done on paper with either pencil or pen (whatever is nearest to me). Once that stage feels complete I'll use my paper layouts as a guide and recreate them in Photoshop, drawing on a <a href="https://www.wacom.com/en-us/products/pen-displays/cintiq-27-qhd-touch">Cintiq monitor</a>. At this point many little changes will occur as I've had further time to refine thoughts and get a grip on how the whole story is flowing. When I've got the entire book up on the computer and generally feel okay with it, I'll bundle it into a pdf file and send it off to trusted friends, my editor, and agent and get feedback.<br />
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People send me notes and I gather them all up and mull over which things make the most sense to me. I tweak the stuff that my editor and I agree needs to change and then it's time to ink the book! Oh! And do the lettering! Actually, the lettering comes first.<br />
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It used to be that lettering was the most tedious part of making a comic for me. I understood it's obvious necessity but I really had no interest in wasting valuable artistic energy on writing words in my story. I wanted to focus on expressions and characters, not spend time dotting i's and crossing t's. I'm happy to say that these days lettering is but a blip in the overall process now thanks to<a href="http://johnmartz.com/"> John Martz!</a> A fellow cartoonist who masterfully created my own personal font file of my lettering for me to use. Now lettering just involves typing in the words and drawing balloons up! It goes so quick and with the clever way that John designed the font file it looks every bit as natural and varied as it would've if I had painstakingly lettered it all out by hand. Total game changer for me.<br />
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So, yeah, lettering is done in a matter of days now and then it's onto inking.<br />
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Calling it inking is a bit misleading in this case. There is no ink involved actually. I do the final line work on the Cintiq monitor once again so maybe I'd be better to call it the "final line work" stage. This is definitely the longest and slowest part of the process for me! It's akin to walking a long path that I've already hiked before but now I've got to travel it again and go at a careful, meticulous pace. One foot in front of the other. Page by page, carving out the rough doodles and turning them into clear, concise images but not losing the 'life' of the original sketch underneath. This is the part where I definitely procrastinate the most.<br />
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When the line work is done I usually send out another PDF to the editor and make certain that everything is feeling good before hopping into color. The color stage has the potential to be as tedious as the line work stage but it isn't for me. It's the final step and it's like putting the icing on the cake! You have to go slow and be methodical but now you are seeing the completed image with each page you do. It stays exciting all the way through for me!<br />
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And then that's it! All done!<br />
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Well, sort of. Actually, not really.<br />
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The final art files are sent off. And then there is a bit of time waiting. Then notes from editors and design staff start showing up in your inbox. Also the planning for the cover image, extra interior pages, and book flaps happens. Lots of discussion occurs at this point as we all try and determine what the most effective cover image would be and there's a bit of fussing over all the peripheral imagery.<br />
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Then things get quiet again.<br />
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And you wait.<br />
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Then you receive a digital proof of the layout of the interior pages and everyone gives one last comb over to make certain we haven't missed any visual mistakes or grammatical errors. Once that stage is signed off you wait a little longer until one day a package arrives on your doorstep. The physical proofs of the book! Printed on the actual paper the book will be printed on! Woo! It's the absolute last point there can be any tweaks or changes made and it's super exciting to see the story in a nearly book like format!<br />
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Then things get quiet yet again.<br />
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Really quiet. And you wait. Again.<br />
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Then another magical day happens where you get a few comp copies of the book! It's hard to breathe at this stage because you've waited so long for this to happen that most of your major organs stop functioning as you page through the book. It's terrifyingly exhilarating. In the most awful best way.<br />
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Then you wait for awhile again. And suddenly it's your book release day! You visit schools and talk to kids about your process and story! You do interviews and tweet, facebook, and instagram your face off about the new book! People email you about it! <a href="https://geekdad.com/2018/04/creating-a-peter-and-ernesto-diorama/">Dioramas</a> are built! Kids do drawings of your characters! You obsessively look at <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34506920-peter-ernesto">Goodreads</a> to see how it's doing out there! It's all glorious and overwhelming.<br />
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<br />
You return home exhausted and sit down with your book. And as you leaf through it you realize that it's probably time to start making a <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Peter-Ernesto-Sloths-Graham-Annable/dp/1626725721">new one</a> again.<br />
<br />
And that's how I create graphic novels! Whew! Thanks for reading everybody! <br />
<br />grickleguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16772984282658197030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22937804.post-52276251410862979312017-03-14T10:07:00.001-07:002017-03-14T10:07:08.478-07:00Win a naked turtle! Original Grickle art giveaway!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.patreon.com/grickle"><img alt="https://www.patreon.com/grickle" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzNhru8nnWlN_KQ0M8uXo5ay_f2I6HH1nU3_5OJycEb0HWhHysfcWrWQh3wa9Ne5U6P11kLd4vz_aLRhFURNwuiKLQilp1yXVWKgLVpnFgLZ64cTKhbYsul_wJcEyGLlWp-gVM/s320/NakedTurtle.jpg" width="286" /></a></div>
<br />
There's never been a better time to become a <a href="https://www.patreon.com/grickle">Grickle patron</a> than now! Beginning this March I will be giving away a piece of original Grickle art (as seen on my <a href="https://www.instagram.com/grickle14/">Instagram</a>) on a monthly basis to patrons at the $5 level or higher! Each month a raffle will be held and I will select one winner! Come join the fun! grickleguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16772984282658197030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22937804.post-80658747277645464282017-01-31T10:25:00.003-08:002017-01-31T10:25:34.633-08:00Grickle Television!With the demise of Vine as we know it I've decided to give my Grickle loops a place to live on Youtube. Take a break from the madness of headlines and enjoy the madness of Grickle Television! A place where Vines are preserved and new bits of Grickle oddness are added in!<br />
<br />
Volume 1<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5xCOILI3B8k" width="560"></iframe>
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And Volume 2<br />
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<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gNI_ZwpF8rU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<br />
And don't forget to support Grickle and enjoy sneak previews at the Grickle Patron Channel!<br />
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https://www.patreon.com/grickle grickleguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16772984282658197030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22937804.post-25679581508566332782016-10-27T09:22:00.001-07:002016-10-27T11:08:33.012-07:0010 years of Grickle Halloween cartoons!<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/F2VzydQoAls" width="560"></iframe>
I'm happy to announce there is a long play collection of ALL the Halloween-themed Grickle shorts from the past decade on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2VzydQoAls">Youtube</a>! There is even a little NEW material added via a spooky intermission located in between the cartoons! <br />
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Relive the nightmares on the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/grickle">Grickle Channel</a>!<br />
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Happy Halloween, everyone!grickleguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16772984282658197030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22937804.post-16659058976384797492016-10-03T12:32:00.002-07:002016-10-03T12:32:36.959-07:00LunchI've got a NEW cartoon up on the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqz4lWE_7FjyIzkO_9KM6KA?view_as=public">Grickle Channel</a>! It's titled "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZ7vH50VO58">Lunch</a>".<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lZ7vH50VO58" width="560"></iframe>
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Perhaps it will serve as a welcome distraction from the insanity these days or function as commentary? I'll let you be the judge, but hopefully it provides a moment of pleasure either way. <br />
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I've been working hard on a BIG Grickle short and there is finally light at the end of the tunnel! If you're already a <a href="https://www.patreon.com/grickle">Grickle Patron</a> then you'll be hearing more in the near future about that! And if you're not a <a href="https://www.patreon.com/grickle">Patron</a> yet then have a peek at the perks and consider supporting <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qou4KNCp6-A">Grickle</a>! <br />
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Hope everyone's week is off to a splendid start!<br />
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<br />grickleguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16772984282658197030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22937804.post-68804254986354617512016-07-20T14:04:00.005-07:002016-07-20T14:04:59.680-07:00DummyThe latest Grickle cartoon is up on my <a href="https://www.youtube.com/grickle">Youtube Channel</a>. Have a look and then sit and think about it. Or just go on with your day. The choice is yours!<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3NSPkP0-c6I" width="560"></iframe>grickleguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16772984282658197030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22937804.post-79791805438646789602016-05-18T10:22:00.002-07:002016-05-18T10:22:17.071-07:00The motorbike that became a computer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
My Dad was really into motorcycles. <br />
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He grew up fixing bikes and taking apart motors all the time. He loved it. Very mechanically minded, my father.<br />
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Me, not so much. <br />
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When I was 11 years old my Dad surprised me with what I think he felt was a monumental birthday gift. A Yamaha MX 80cc motorcycle was propped up on its kickstand in the backyard. My very own motorbike! All for me. To learn how to drive on. Change gears. Change oil. An engine to care for.<br />
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Pretty cool.<br />
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I liked the Yamaha. I learned how to drive and got to understand the notion of gears. I was aesthetically pleased with it's yellow and black gas tank. We went on a few father/son fishing trips, each of us on our own bike, driving deep into the backwoods of Northern Ontario. Good times. Looking back I realize that it must of made my Dad so proud and happy that his only son was embarking on a tradition of loving motorcycles just like he had.<br />
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It was short-lived.<br />
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The early eighties were a time of change. A time when the idea of having a computer in the house was becoming the norm. A home computer. I became VERY obsessed with the idea of owning a Commodore Vic-20 home computer. It was hands down the coolest one out there in my mind. It's warm, off-white, creamy-colored base with striking black keys set it apart from the pack. Plus it was LOADED with an astronomical 5 KB of RAM! It was all I thought about. I pestered my parents relentlessly. I remember visiting the little computer shop on Queen Street in downtown Sault Ste. Marie and just salivating over being surrounded by Commodore products. My parents could see how much I wanted one.<br />
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At a certain point my Dad approached me about one path towards purchasing a computer. With a heavy sigh he explained to me that, if I was willing to, I could sell the Yamaha and use that money towards a computer. He must have hoped I'd say "No way! How could you even dare propose such a thing?"<br />
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Instead I jumped at it instantly. No hesitation whatsoever.<br />
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His face didn't show it but I'm sure that stung him.<br />
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My father listed the bike for sale and within a week it was gone forever. The following week we got the Vic-20.<br />
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A REAL computer! In our HOME! It had a datasette for cassettes, a cartridge slot for cartridges, and you could write code on it and everything! Nothing could tear me away from the Vic-20 for the next few months. I'd play Snack-Man until I couldn't see straight. I'd be writing "10 GOTO 20" and all sorts of other magical phrases as I attempted to bend the computer to my will. The Vic-20 was the King of the computing world and I was part of it's royal family!<br />
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<br />
<br />
Then the Commodore 64 came out.<br />
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<br />
The Vic-20 was last year's news. A glorified calculator with crappy knock off games on it. I'd gambled a lifetime of motorcycles on the Vic-20 and lost. My beige, has-been, archaic computer paled beside the Commodore 64's steely grey tones
that just screamed "new supreme power." It didn't have just a datasette, it also came with a FLOPPY DISC DRIVE! It was unstoppable and I was never going to be in a position financially to upgrade to a 64. I was stuck in an obsolete class of computer owner shamed to the shadows of insufficient coding capacity. I could barely muster the enthusiasm to load up Snack-Man anymore on the datasette. Life had turned cold and grey.<br />
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But then the storm clouds parted somewhat. A friend of mine down the street got a 64!<br />
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I pretty much began to live in his basement on weekends. The world of the 64 was so much more vast and populated than the Vic-20s'! There were games upon games upon games! AND a lot of them weren't even just cheap imitations of arcade hits! They were genuinely built for the 64!<br />
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My friend actually didn't have a ton of store bought games starting out. But that wasn't much of a hurdle because he had a connection in our neighborhood. An older kid who was a computer whiz with an apparent disdain for authority and law. Once every month or so we'd make a trip to his house with a stack of fresh floppy discs. And hovering over his shoulder while he sipped a Coke, he'd fill my friend's discs with all manner of the latest 64 games from God knows where. He didn't tell and we didn't ask.<br />
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We'd then run back to hole up in the basement and try out the discs. There seemed to be about a 60-40 % success rate with whether a game would load up or not. But there were so many to go through it never mattered much. If it didn't load we'd just move on to the next. <br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/arnkNbxnCYU" width="420"></iframe>
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One game that we always held our breath on while it booted up was Karateka. It worked about 50% of the time and it always felt like winning the lottery if we got it to load. The intro was SO dramatic and intense (check out the above Youtube video). It still gives me chills! So many hours of my life were spent just sitting there looking at a comic with the buzzing and ticking of a floppy drive in the background. Interrupted by anxious glances at the screen to see if a company logo or menu had popped up yet. Glorious and formative years.<br />
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My Dad still loves motorbikes. He's still very mechanically minded. I've never owned a motorcycle in my lifetime since that Yamaha MX 80. And I'm most definitely still not mechanically minded (just ask my tolerant wife). But whenever we visit my parents these days I do manage to sit down in front of my Dad's Playstation and play many, many rounds of whatever video games he's into lately with him.<br />
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It's not exactly a father/son fishing trip but it's a trip of sorts I suppose.<br />
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<br />grickleguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16772984282658197030noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22937804.post-7792320024520180172016-04-25T10:35:00.001-07:002016-04-25T10:35:13.326-07:00Become a Grickle Patron!<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Qou4KNCp6-A" width="560"></iframe>
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Hey everyone!<br />
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I've created a <a href="https://www.patreon.com/grickle?ty=h">Grickle Patreon Page</a>! It's been a long time coming! Over the last year or so I've been quietly weighing the options of how best to fund my ongoing efforts in the Grickle Channel and Patreon seemed like the smartest option!<br />
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I've really struggled with how to properly monetize Grickle. Initially I'd been considering a Kickstarter campaign but the more I researched it it felt like the wrong structure for what I was doing. I plan to create Grickle cartoons for as long as I can keep breathing air and drawing stuff and Kickstarter is more tuned to single projects or finite endeavors. I long ago started allowing ads on Youtube thinking that the revenue would help in purchasing soundEFX and software upgrades. But man, unless you are <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PewDiePie">PewdiePie</a> I don't think it's possible to really sustain yourself off that. I even added the "Support this channel" on my Youtube page, above and beyond the ad revenue, but again things are structured in such a manner that by the time Youtube and Google have had their bites you really aren't left with much of anything. It's helped but it's far from enough to cover the costs and time I put into the channel.<br />
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So here's hoping that Patreon is the answer to allowing me to fund my current work on the Grickle Channel and provide a bright new future where I'll be able to justify turning away freelance work and other paying gigs to spend even more time making more cartoons! If you've enjoyed the animation over the last decade please consider becoming a <a href="https://www.patreon.com/grickle?ty=h">Grickle Patron</a>!<br />
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There's a bunch of perks to being a patron too! <br />
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I've set it up to provide an ad-free Vimeo channel with advance access to NEW Grickle cartoons before they appear on Youtube! A behind-the-scenes newsletter will showcase different past shorts with early sketches, storyboards and commentary! Higher tier patrons will get special postcards mailed to their home announcing upcoming cartoons and special events! There will also be a chance at winning original Grickle art! SO beyond supporting the channel you'll definitely be getting something for your patronage!<br />
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I'm really excited to kick off this new era of Grickle and I hope you are too!<br />
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<a href="https://www.patreon.com/grickle?ty=h">Climb aboard</a>! grickleguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16772984282658197030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22937804.post-2063229469019196962016-04-08T09:37:00.002-07:002016-04-08T09:37:49.925-07:00The Hidden People are WATCHING.I did a Twitter poll the other week asking what everyone's favorite Grickle character was.<br />
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The Hidden People won it by a narrow margin over Principal Skeleton.<br />
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So in an effort to utilize this new found data and also to help fund the ongoing explorations of the Grickle universe, I present to you a NEW <a href="http://www.stashriot.com/collections/grickle/products/the-hidden-people">Hidden People t-shirt</a>! Now available at the wonderful new <a href="http://www.stashriot.com/collections/grickle">Grickle Shop</a>!<br />
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They're watching you. They're always watching. <br />
<br />grickleguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16772984282658197030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22937804.post-15566566410033075352016-03-24T10:01:00.001-07:002016-04-07T00:32:28.861-07:00The Grickle Shop is OPEN today!<iframe frameborder="0" height="600" src="https://vine.co/v/ipJgYPOJpWr/embed/simple" width="600"></iframe><script src="https://platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js"></script>
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As mentioned previously there's a brand new <a href="http://www.stashriot.com/collections/grickle">Grickle Shop</a> open for business today! There's a bunch of things I've never made available before! Stuff like MUGS! <a href="http://www.stashriot.com/collections/grickle/products/the-grickle-channel-mug">Grickle mugs</a>! And debuting is "<a href="http://www.stashriot.com/collections/grickle/products/the-smartest-dog-shirt">The Smartest Dog in the World</a>" shirt! Available in yummy cranberry or olive colors! <br />
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<a href="http://www.stashriot.com/collections/grickle/products/the-smartest-dog-shirt"><img alt="http://www.stashriot.com/collections/grickle/products/the-smartest-dog-shirt" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD_KWM_vnrSGr6MK-Egsz70LT0MjIGELtT5m6zFwMD5Us7gqhwK9NghHiQ4x3asIrXpvUmAWPTIA0iXRBu2endUAYnEGpm_cpgHQLn7FMkhnvxVnbJ7N0P3ElSDfExOS23v56E/s320/Shirt_SmartestDog_loRes.jpg" width="279" /></a></div>
I'll be adding new designs incrementally over the next few months! Keep an eye out!<br />
<br />
I should also mention that I'm likely going to shut down the <a href="http://grickle.bigcartel.com/">Grickle Store</a> very soon. So if there are any prints, items, you were thinking of getting on there I'd do it soon! I've loved running my own store over the years but I'll be honest, the extra time and energy it takes to keep on top of orders has taken it's toll. I'm very happy to hand over the managerial reigns to <a href="http://www.stashriot.com/">Stash Riot</a> and the new <a href="http://www.stashriot.com/collections/grickle">Grickle Shop</a>.<br />
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On to a new era of Grickle items to fawn over! <br />
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<br />grickleguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16772984282658197030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22937804.post-65739735288703885852016-03-21T14:22:00.000-07:002016-03-21T14:22:08.792-07:00The Grickle Shop!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well as much as I tried to not let it happen, it happened.<br />
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I have severely lagged on keeping up on this blog.<br />
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But I'm here today! Primarily to give a heads up that there will be a brand spanking new Grickle Shop this Wednesday, March 23! It will feature a completely new and exclusive "The Smartest Dog in the World" shirt, along with some other exciting Grickle-y items! I'll be adding new designs in the coming months as ideas hit me. So keep an eye out for it! There will be a proper link as soon as the site goes live! But for now feel free to let the world know it's coming! Or you can just keep it quietly to yourself if that's more your thing.<br />
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Further updates! Life's been going well for the most part.<br />
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I'm deep into thumbnailing my first "<a href="http://www.adweek.com/galleycat/graham-annable-inks-deal-with-first-second-books/116478">Ernesto& Peter</a>" graphic novel (which I will post progress pics on, I swear). So far so good, I think. I'm liking these guys and enjoying getting to know them and that's always a good sign. <br />
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I've been also quietly working on creating a Grickle Patreon account! It's nearing completion and I hope to launch it in the next month or so. Beyond just supporting me as an artist it'll offer the opportunity for you to become a patron of Grickle with such benefits as a secret, behind-the-scenes newsletter, sneak previews, ad-free content, and a chance to win original art! More on that as the situation develops!<br />
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I've been continuing to post doodles and animation on a daily basis to my <a href="https://www.instagram.com/grickle14/">Instagram</a> account. So if you haven't checked it out you should! And speaking of animation I've been weekly updating a new <a href="https://vine.co/grickle">Vine</a> cartoon now for months! It's been fun to do and the 6 second parameter keeps my brain on it's toes!<br />
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Let's see, what else? Oh! I watched the new "Pee-Wee's Big Holiday" on Netflix last weekend. I'm a huge fan of "Big Adventure" and had thoroughly prepped myself to feel immense waves of disappointment while watching "Big Holiday." I was WRONG! "Big Holiday" did a fine, fine job! There are some really solid gags in it and Paul Reubens totally shone as Pee-Wee again. I was pleasantly surprised. Hats off to Judd Apatow and everyone involved in the production! I'd say my only minor beef with it is that I wished it had incorporated some nice stylized stop motion animation into the effects like the good old days. Otherwise, well done!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLUO0MeBy5go0qSLCl2ygkhjR4gmHhBvRhYzFXqbCF_4Z6MAFl0myviBadNyDSoPb52OUWkBH9BFf2FXpBA46_eipN3mOms8dHupg63hcDPeobCTVlZLqwm6r9NvN1yoFcfnlT/s1600/BlogDoo15_PeeWeeBigHoliday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLUO0MeBy5go0qSLCl2ygkhjR4gmHhBvRhYzFXqbCF_4Z6MAFl0myviBadNyDSoPb52OUWkBH9BFf2FXpBA46_eipN3mOms8dHupg63hcDPeobCTVlZLqwm6r9NvN1yoFcfnlT/s320/BlogDoo15_PeeWeeBigHoliday.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Okay. I'm putting down the mic now and getting back to work.<br />
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Thanks for reading everybody! <br />
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More soon!<br />
<br />grickleguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16772984282658197030noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22937804.post-63017968647984286812016-02-12T13:49:00.001-08:002016-02-12T13:49:30.389-08:00Peter & Ernesto announced!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw4ENBTIup05QYtYNIiwzAaLTwD3QMABBnFbDBhefEyf3xV6XArjHfTlAhd1EbtTEfjbCTSFnBtXOfifzKbPstR6C4zs9s5SRoHgioLkIQlgqKWXiQIcG5qspd4IsPuOto3PwU/s1600/PeterErnesto01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw4ENBTIup05QYtYNIiwzAaLTwD3QMABBnFbDBhefEyf3xV6XArjHfTlAhd1EbtTEfjbCTSFnBtXOfifzKbPstR6C4zs9s5SRoHgioLkIQlgqKWXiQIcG5qspd4IsPuOto3PwU/s320/PeterErnesto01.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Hey everyone!<br />
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Just a short post to share some exciting news in the world of Grickle today! I'm working on a graphic for First Second called <a href="http://nerdist.com/the-boxtrolls-graham-annable-is-publishing-a-graphic-novel-exclusive/">"Peter & Ernesto"</a>! It's about two very different sloths who are the best of friends! And while it will be geared towards younger readers I hope that everyone will really dig the adventures of these two!<br />
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More news and work-in-progress images will appear in the coming months!<br />
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Very stoked to be doing comics again and extremely pleased to be working with First Second on this project!<br />
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Things are good! Hope everyone is doing well out there! grickleguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16772984282658197030noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22937804.post-6283342962513826262016-01-08T10:56:00.002-08:002016-01-08T10:56:25.393-08:00A New Year...again.It's 2016 now.<br />
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The future is here. I've got a lot planned for this year and I'm excited about it BUT I'm not admitting to anything until I'm sure it'll happen. That way no one can hold me to any of it.<br />
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I'm a New Year's coward. It's true.<br />
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Although one thing I will admit to is exciting progress on the Grickle Gardens! For those of you who don't frequent this blog often, the Grickle Gardens is my customized table hockey set that I've been obsessing over the last few months.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_ZwG5DuaDnhrCJAPzavvqik4TzwDaGEV3D3Q2dELPZOuEFoL9MZh8SxYd9h_weeHlQJYHd7t03tClkLlyFxXTGF2rnuJrXuuGeokZXzlSA5IO99EJFSzIqYNz5FN4MT0wXXA4/s1600/IMG_4154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_ZwG5DuaDnhrCJAPzavvqik4TzwDaGEV3D3Q2dELPZOuEFoL9MZh8SxYd9h_weeHlQJYHd7t03tClkLlyFxXTGF2rnuJrXuuGeokZXzlSA5IO99EJFSzIqYNz5FN4MT0wXXA4/s320/IMG_4154.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I'm happy to report that the set is once again playable! I've pretty much completed adding all the decals to the boards. On the outside there's an arbitrary looking arrangement of old school hockey logos that I've admired over the years. Some are NHL but others are from the defunct WHA and junior leagues like the OHL and WHL. I even got some NCAA representation on there (Gophers, eh). There's still a little space left on either side that I may add further decals but those precious spaces will only be given to logos that have gone through intense scrutinization and vetting. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMUzmfzEJbwBMsd58yCASuEST8fCitLK-es8y4GZI0ttIimBczvou-RiPd5XeX5VzMCHe28PtbsQ1RRf-k7_1LPvP-zIS1n8Y9V8S26aoM_N9hrX3MwoM27e3g5rqoctQs0an-/s1600/IMG_4219.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMUzmfzEJbwBMsd58yCASuEST8fCitLK-es8y4GZI0ttIimBczvou-RiPd5XeX5VzMCHe28PtbsQ1RRf-k7_1LPvP-zIS1n8Y9V8S26aoM_N9hrX3MwoM27e3g5rqoctQs0an-/s320/IMG_4219.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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On the inside rink boards I've got a mish mash from Canada, Minnesota and California. I'm especially proud of getting a few specific Sault Ste. Marie businesses (my hometown) on there! Mrs. B's and the old Aurora's are looking good! And just for my wife I made sure to get the Triple Rock Social Club put on, a Minneapolis mainstay!<br />
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I've also got all the Rangers and Red Wings numbered and named now. It's an all-star cast from across many eras. A best of the best, with a few arbitrary abberations thrown in there. As stated in an earlier post, I went with John Davidson for the New York nets instead of a more obvious choice like Mike Richter or even John Vanbiesbrouck. His mask was too cool to not try and paint. I think he turned out alright, given my relative novice painting skills.<br />
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On the other end of the rink I have, who I'm calling, "Moderne Sawchuk" suited up for Detroit. Terry Sawchuk was the obvious choice to me for the best of the best Red Wing goalies. But the idea of trying to paint either a maskless version or that crazy fleshy colored mask he wore in the sixties seemed too daunting a task for my limited skill set. So I decided I'd attempt a fictional updated version of what Sawchuk might look like if he played nowadays. Moderne Sawchuk.<br />
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I've played a bunch of games with friends and my son and table hockey has lost none of the charms and thrills I remember from my youth! Such a fantastic game! The layouts and strategy are so much closer to how an actual hockey game is played, than say how a fooseball table relates to actual soccer. Superior, in my opinion.</div>
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I've now begun to strategize how to get some real nets with mesh made, along with purchasing some further teams that I'm in the middle of customizing. Next up I hope to put an early 80's version of the Minnesota North Stars on the ice. Dino, Meloche, and bunch of other old familiar faces will soon grace the Grickle Gardens with their esteemed presence. Here's a sneak peek of the work in progress.</div>
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Alright! I've talked your ear off enough about table hockey! I will now release you back into the internet wilds! Thanks for reading!<br />
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I'll post more Grickle related news as soon as it happens! Stay tuned! :)<br />
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<br />grickleguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16772984282658197030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22937804.post-68444507579770074452015-11-16T11:37:00.002-08:002015-11-16T11:37:42.085-08:00The dancing beaver t-shirt!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://teespring.com/the-dancing-beaver"><img alt="https://teespring.com/the-dancing-beaver" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMv_DwLQf2xXNBekrl0KEK3OPXLeTZ_sJQ3DCfCHBIwRDJb0p26TtPA41dY9S1joraukTZMEMLWlSB08H_dv-EbkFAOaMuav8B629eMyG0jLkhDYQzMbPVKCJJ8WYXBXGuGGgm/s320/Beaver_ForestElectricTshirtLoRes.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Hey everyone!<br />
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Just a short post to let people know that I've got a <a href="https://teespring.com/the-dancing-beaver">new Grickle shirt</a> available for the holiday season! The little dancing beaver from "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkUZFV8g0YE">We Sing the Forest Electric</a>" fame is up on Teespring for a very limited time!<br />
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I know, like everyone else, it's always disturbing to have Christmas stuff thrown in our faces immediately following Halloween, but unfortunately if I don't do this campaign right now the shirts wouldn't ship in time for the holidays. So if you're trying to figure out a Grickle gift for any friends or family you've got about a week to order one of these!<br />
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<a href="https://teespring.com/the-dancing-beaver">Order right here! </a><br />
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I've been doing these <a href="https://teespring.com/stores/the-grickle-shirt-store">Teespring campaigns</a> over the last couple of years as a way of trying to supplement the time and resources I spend on creating original animation for the Grickle Channel. So if you've been enjoying my cartoons over the last decade on Youtube this is a great way to show your support! You can view all the past t-shirt campaigns <a href="https://teespring.com/stores/the-grickle-shirt-store">here</a>! If enough people reorder the older shirts than Teespring does a fresh print run! Have a look!<br />
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<a href="https://teespring.com/stores/the-grickle-shirt-store">The Grickle T-shirt store!</a><br />
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Thanks, everybody!grickleguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16772984282658197030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22937804.post-8041029261201146332015-11-02T11:17:00.001-08:002015-11-02T11:17:49.620-08:00How's that hockey table coming?Nobody's really asking but I'm telling anyways.<br />
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It's my blog. And that's what a blog's for, right?<br />
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This post is primarily about my progress on my obsessive home project of customizing a Stiga Table Hockey set. You can choose to read it or not. Feel free to bail. I won't think any less of you. <br />
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For those of you who happen to enjoy the sport of hockey or just like looking at people's odd hobbies please join me! <br />
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Here we go.<br />
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So earlier I'd mentioned I haven't had a great history with model building. I absolutely love minatures and dioramas but I've never possessed the skills to build them. I just like looking at them.<br />
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I knew though that the day my Stiga Stanley Cup Table Hockey game arrived I wanted, no, NEEDED to customize it! Make it my own private shrine to the hockey gods! <br />
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Given my checkered past with decals and tiny things I entered into this journey with some trepidation. I really wanted this thing to look cool. I didn't want to eff it all up and be forced into a situation of slamming it into the garbage bin like that X-wing from long ago <a href="http://gricklethings.blogspot.com/2015/10/models.html">(see earlier post)</a>.<br />
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So far, I'm happy to report, that things have been going along relatively smoothly! I've been actually pleased by the results!<br />
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I suppose being a middle-aged adult has somewhat afforded me with enough patience and ability to follow instructions that I'm able to clearly out do my younger prepubescent self in the world of models and decals. <br />
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When the set first showed up I quickly assembled it. I had chosen to start with the NY Rangers versus the Detroit Red Wings as my beginning matchup. Stiga didn't offer a version that has a Montreal Canadiens team so I chose the least offensive pairing I could find. No disrespect to Rangers and Wings fans out there but these teams would serve as guinea pigs for honing my skills with model paints and decals. <br />
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My two sons immediately got into playing with the set! Even my youngest, who so far hasn't shown much love for the sport of hockey, or any sport really, was loving using the puck ejector and doing spinning slappers on it. After a couple of days of playing I shut the whole thing down. It was time to customize!<br />
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My boys were not pleased. <br />
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One of my co-workers has started calling me President Business (ala the Lego Movie). And I guess it's not far from the truth right now. But dammit this was MY set and I had to get started on making it a mind blowing display of hockey awesomeness! They'll thank me in later years. I'm sure of it.<br />
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The first thing to be done and honestly the toughest step I've taken so far was to evenly paint the top of the rink boards red. I'd looked on the internet for reference and also remembered a lot of arenas I've played in, and red on top of the boards is a common color you see. Some places are blue and others yellow but red seemed like the right vibe to me. So I proceeded to take everything off the board and completely tape the whole set off. Just leaving the top of the rink boards exposed. It took me FOREVER to properly tape it up. I blew a whole Sunday afternoon on this step. Out in the back yard I laid it down on some plastic tarp and began spray painting as my family silently looked on from the window. At first the red looked a bit pink to me and I began to get nervous I'd already screwed up the project. But, after a night of drying in the garage, I was relieved to see it was a perfectly vibrant red and my taping job had been quite effective.<br />
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Step one complete.<br />
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I stupidly didn't take any photos during this beginning phase. I wished I had. It took so long to get that thing taped up that I completely spaced on the notion of recording the event. I was too eager to just get painting. I wouldn't make that mistake again.<br />
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The next thing to do was begin experimenting with decals on the players. I should mention that I found an amazing resource on the internet, a website, called "<a href="http://www.tablehockeyheaven.com/">Table Hockey Heaven</a>." The forums there have been an infinite source of inspiration and information on what to do with this set! I carefully followed the decal instructions suggested and began to put numbers and names on my Detroit team.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDZJKLRhGAC2daRe00X1gqwytUsciTxF6kkFtKIpeCXIB2PfuayBGYI4zpXxswu_43bxRAvLQ8mP6ri470oybim2oDtCvgKpuypWN2sIInNpUBh_B4lmuAmCyAGkrBPH0BzZuU/s1600/Stiga_DetroitTeam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDZJKLRhGAC2daRe00X1gqwytUsciTxF6kkFtKIpeCXIB2PfuayBGYI4zpXxswu_43bxRAvLQ8mP6ri470oybim2oDtCvgKpuypWN2sIInNpUBh_B4lmuAmCyAGkrBPH0BzZuU/s320/Stiga_DetroitTeam.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I measured what I thought would be the proper sizes for the numbers and names on the jerseys. The decals were so TINY! That actually turned out to be a good thing for my first foray into it. I've discovered that the bigger the decal the trickier it is applying it and getting it to lay flat. I was so glad I'd invested in a pair of really good tweezers for this! Made all the difference in accurately placing the names and numbers.<br />
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For Detroit, and I think for all the teams I assemble going forward, I'm kind of creating a "greatest hits" version. Regardless of era, I'm putting together an all-star team for each franchise. So for Detroit I've got Gordie Howe playing alongside Stevie Y and Pavel Datsyuk. Some choices are tough to make. I probably could have put Ted Lindsay in there but I will admit that I make some of my decisions based on personal nostalgia. There's no way I'm making a Red Wings team without Yzerman playing. <br />
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Next I needed to clean all the cheapie factory-made stickers on the boards and outside off. That took a bunch of nights of using water and "Goo be Gone" to get everything cleaned.<br />
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I then carefully taped off the boards and extended the red line and blue lines up the sides.<br />
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My son asks every day "When can we PLAY the game again, Poppa?" Patience, son, patience.<br />
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One of the funnest elements of customizing this set has been scouring the internet for obscure logos to put on the outside of the boards. I'm choosing logos based entirely on my personal tastes. There's no discernible rhyme or reason to any of it for anyone else. I'm lumping Junior A teams alongside cool WHA logos and defunct NHL teams purely for the aesthetic zeal of it all. And because they're logos I've grown up with. The Greyhounds were the local junior team in my hometown, the Nordiques were the greatest rivals of my beloved Habs during the 80's, the Portland Buckeroos were an incredible Oregon team based here in the 60's and 70's. I love all the individual histories they represent to me. Plus they look cool.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTgrAa3atxUtfqdHRnzWhJgX1octK_TzzU_yvb5AsMqEUbtwfVspyq5NVpcs83-vm6ZhSv9RpqLdmceNFDoMJGlPwarm5eEPd_KmCe7AmEPgsDnTLVLVi3ZqEx0TTERk5sVyaW/s1600/Stiga_DecalsOutside02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTgrAa3atxUtfqdHRnzWhJgX1octK_TzzU_yvb5AsMqEUbtwfVspyq5NVpcs83-vm6ZhSv9RpqLdmceNFDoMJGlPwarm5eEPd_KmCe7AmEPgsDnTLVLVi3ZqEx0TTERk5sVyaW/s320/Stiga_DecalsOutside02.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_bKXa2igl_zPH4KAR-W-fvUKF3o9uYlhuLlRdRKJr8CaUvayq9ryS-RYV5r8lNffsbaEKki5OTJlGZgBh13JTOhFQvw2e2aU1vNnhNKN0WoQHWuaz7Thfi-hf9NEWFRrE3QHC/s1600/Stiga_DecalsOutside.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_bKXa2igl_zPH4KAR-W-fvUKF3o9uYlhuLlRdRKJr8CaUvayq9ryS-RYV5r8lNffsbaEKki5OTJlGZgBh13JTOhFQvw2e2aU1vNnhNKN0WoQHWuaz7Thfi-hf9NEWFRrE3QHC/s320/Stiga_DecalsOutside.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
I needed a name for the rink. After many iterations in my head I settled upon "Grickle Gardens". It had the right old school flavor to it and I instantly knew of a logo I could create! I subverted the classic Johnny Canuck image by adding a Gricklized head and made sure to retain the toque, eh. Perfect.<br />
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<br />
And that about brings you up to date on my progress. I've begun printing out names and numbers for the opposing Rangers team. AND I'm about to begin sanding and painting the Rangers goalie which is VERY exciting to me. As much as I've been creating an all-star team for each city I've gone with John Davidson for my Rangers goalie. Not necessarily the best NY goalie of all time but definitely the coolest looking netminder they ever had.<br />
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<br />
I mean look at that mask! I hope I'm able to do it justice painting so damn small.<br />
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Look for another update in a few months or so! :)<br />
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grickleguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16772984282658197030noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22937804.post-67839794024249870352015-10-20T09:30:00.001-07:002015-10-20T09:30:48.161-07:00The Webb.Hi everyone!<br />
<br />
This short blog post is solely devoted to the fact that I've got a new cartoon up on the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/grickle">Grickle Channel</a> today. It is the longest short I've ever made thus far in the decade or so I've been doing this. It lived in scribbles and doodle and in my mind for well over 4 years before I finally completed it. It's creepy. It's scary. And it's just in time for Halloween. Enjoy.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y1TaP9N2PZY" width="560"></iframe>
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Tell your friends and enemies out there! Spread it around, internet-style! grickleguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16772984282658197030noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22937804.post-66297660482478800782015-10-08T11:00:00.000-07:002015-10-08T11:00:46.411-07:00Models.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrM_OizpbucvUa_gUtqDQCFt-iOPAFSZe4jwRvk4CjK5d3U_Hr95l1R6Ce1BwVRXmK-na9XyPSFjtMgZwUWVtv_wUHA0NnTkB2VpQJuHIn-1jFnJHDuf7YQKOdWlZ8gNve2HL7/s1600/BlogDoo13_Models.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrM_OizpbucvUa_gUtqDQCFt-iOPAFSZe4jwRvk4CjK5d3U_Hr95l1R6Ce1BwVRXmK-na9XyPSFjtMgZwUWVtv_wUHA0NnTkB2VpQJuHIn-1jFnJHDuf7YQKOdWlZ8gNve2HL7/s320/BlogDoo13_Models.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
I was thinking about models the other day.<br />
<br />
The models you build. Not the ones that strut around on catwalks and purse their lips for the camera.<br />
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Models that come in prefabricated pieces in cardboard boxes. Accompanied with step by step instructions on how to take it to it's final destined form.<br />
<br />
I loved having models.<br />
<br />
I hated building models.<br />
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I was lucky enough to hang around with an older kid in my neighborhood who was about 3, maybe 4 years older than me. He introduced me to music. I remember sitting in his basement marveling over album covers of KISS and Alice Cooper and listening to stuff that was 'cool'. He had a skateboard. I was never any good at it but I sure liked trying.<br />
<br />
He was also into models.<br />
<br />
Heavily into models. And he was super good at building them. I remember he had this HUGE aircraft carrier he'd built that I could never stop looking at. He put all the decals in the right spot, it was perfectly painted. An exact miniature of the real thing. <br />
<br />
I'd sit with him while he worked on some old WW2 airplane or tank. He'd be carefully following the instructions and bringing this amazing vehicle to life. He had a box of 'extras'. Pieces that were left over from previous endeavors, that I could mess around with. I loved just grabbing random bits of whatever I fancied and applying way too much glue to them. Building some unknowable thing until I deemed it was done. As long as there were no instructions to follow, model building was awesome. I never tired of that.<br />
<br />
At a certain point my older friend and his family moved away. It was a sad day because our families were good friends and we spent a lot of time with them. As sad as I was to see my 'mentor' leave I will admit I was stoked to inherit his massive aircraft carrier! It immediately went up on top of my bookshelf where I looked at it closely every day. It was the object that inspired me to venture into a world of eternal torture. Building my own models.<br />
<br />
For the next three years or so I was constantly buying model kits and attempting to build the things the front of the boxes promised.<br />
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I don't know that I ever completed a single one.<br />
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I just couldn't follow through on the instructions without messing up some major step along the way. I never had any patience to wait to apply the decals until the end. I was always irreparably gluing some wrong piece to another because I'd misinterpreted the illustration in the instructions. My models seemed to always culminate into a glue-coated Katamari ball of shit that didn't look anything like the well-lit photograph on the box. But within a few weeks, the frustration would always dissipate enough that I'd convince myself that "Yes, I could totally build that Husqvarna dirt bike with all the complicated wiring and motor parts". And off I'd go again down a dark, dark, road of glue and self loathing.<br />
<br />
The ultimate end of my modeling days arrived when I came into possession of a huge X-Wing fighter kit. I wanted that ship to be displayed on my shelf SO BAD. I willed myself to truly follow the instructions and take my time to make it PERFECT. It was going to rival the aircraft carrier for sheer awesomeness in my room. But as I put it together the usual patterns emerged. My frustration built. And as I began to realize that I had, yet again, effed up the instructions and severely compromised my ability to complete my X-Wing fighter in the manner it was supposed to be done, I lost it. In a complete rage I scooped up my 3/4 finished piece of shit X-Wing and stomped over to the garbage in our kitchen and, in front of my parents and sister, THREW it forcibly into the trash. Immediately thereafter exploding into tears of anger and utter sadness that I just couldn't make that X-Wing happen. That was the last the model I ever attempted to make on my own.<br />
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After that I focused solely on drawing. And hoarding as many pre-built Star Wars figures and vehicles as I could throughout my childhood.<br />
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Things turned out okay.<br />
<br />
I stayed away from models. <br />
<br />
Until now. I recently purchased a Stiga table hockey set that I'm dying to customize. Put decals on. Paint. Make it nerdrifically pretty! This will be the first time, since those dark days of the X-Wing, that I will attempt to enter the world of model making again. I'm filled with an eagerness and anxiety I haven't known in a long, long time.<br />
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Wish me luck.<br />
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I really hope it doesn't end with my slamming the entire set into our garbage. <br />
<br />
Time will tell.<br />
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<br />grickleguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16772984282658197030noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22937804.post-86130563680015502122015-09-24T09:56:00.001-07:002015-09-24T09:56:33.313-07:00Stress goalies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfGaarnh7XvaYbH8cfXFMT8djdBWXe0NmMSr4hzKpncnFX6_OCIT4Tuyy7VnYEJutZA7au_vESM7HBsaoycXx90AwRQA0RuBU_4jRqL6f7F0APBvc4uYLG-OrLeNOR19J_Dv2p/s1600/BlogDoo12_Parent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfGaarnh7XvaYbH8cfXFMT8djdBWXe0NmMSr4hzKpncnFX6_OCIT4Tuyy7VnYEJutZA7au_vESM7HBsaoycXx90AwRQA0RuBU_4jRqL6f7F0APBvc4uYLG-OrLeNOR19J_Dv2p/s320/BlogDoo12_Parent.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I'm a nervous guy. There's always been a healthy level of anxiety in my daily existence. It's just part of who I am. Nervous. Cautious. More nervous.<br />
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When you're an anxious person you find different ways of coping with stress. You go through life trying and discarding many methods until you find the ones that work best. You create constants that you go to. Comfort food for your mind.<br />
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My comfort food has always been hockey. Goalies, specifically.<br />
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From an early age I was obsessed, like many other Canadian kids, with hockey. I collected cards. I checked the standings in the paper every day. I watched HNIC on Saturday nights. And I of course played in a house league hockey league. I also drew. A lot. I was a much better drawer than I was a hockey player. That balance in my life still hasn't shifted much to this day. Naturally these two worlds came together for me in a steady stream of goalie drawings. I gravitated to goalies for obvious reasons. With all the pads and mask they just looked the coolest. They were like modern knights in leather armour. The blocker was a shield, the goal stick a lance, the mask as a medieval helmet. Too cool. There was no way to resist drawing that when you're a hockey fan who likes to doodle. As a kid it became part of my daily routine.<br />
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As I grew older and life increased in complexity and responsibilities, the 'goalie' habit became a welcome refuge away from the swirl of challenges I was surrounded by. The familiarity of sketching out the pads, blocker, and glove had an instant calming effect on my racing thoughts. The way the equipment looked was very specific. I always remember getting absurdly irritated when I'd read a story in my Archie digests or some other comic about hockey and the equipment was drawn all wrong. The artist obviously didn't give two shits and figured just drawing a bunch of dudes with skates and wooly sweaters with pads randomly attached would suffice. It drove me crazy! All they needed to do was just a few minutes of research to figure out how the pants and socks worked and where to draw the tape on the stick! Gah! Simple!<br />
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The goalie pads (if they even realized there was a different position called goalie involved) were always the most horrendously effed up. Lumpy pillow-y pads and a ribbed back catcher's chest protector were standard misinterpretations of what actual goalie gear should look like. I knew that THIS was what goalie pads were supposed to look like:<br />
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Of course, all my preferences were based on the pads of the 70's and early 80's at the time. So, with the exception of Billy Smith and Grant Fuhr, pads were always brown leather. And goalies wore masks! I'm all for better protection and visibility for players but I do miss those days of the full face goalie mask. It's no mystery why Jason donned a hockey mask in the Friday the 13ths. Old school goalie masks were wicked. And honestly a lot easier to draw than the present day cage/mask combos out there. All those lines for the cage part are just tedious and confusing to render. Back in the day you had all these greats to draw:<br />
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As a young adult, and well into my thirties, I'd be the victim of seemingly random panic attacks. They were paralyzing experiences. Largely attributed to my naturally nervous demeanor, I'd try all sorts of things to swing me out of them. Drawing goalies or something familiar always helped. Whenever a panic attack began and there was paper and pen available I'd start drawing a goalie. Stacking the pads, making a glove save, or diving for a loose puck in traffic, it all helped steer me away from the madness. Working out the jersey to render and coming up with a design for the mask took me away from whatever freakout I'd been about to embark on. They weren't always the greatest drawings (a lot of shaky lines) but they almost always helped. <br />
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Thankfully I'm no longer the angst-ridden person of yesteryear that I was. Age, experience, a wonderful wife, and a general downgrade of energy, I'm sure have all contributed to the mellowing of my soul. Which is great and I'm thankful for it.<br />
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But some old habits do persist. <br />
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Even in a chilled state of mind I still enjoy doodling a good goalie every now and then. But only brown pads. I can't totally let go of the past. grickleguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16772984282658197030noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22937804.post-2783599483664092722015-09-15T10:16:00.002-07:002015-09-15T10:16:37.976-07:00A rock of an idea.Good day!<br />
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First off I'd like to let everyone know that a brand new cartoon is up exclusively on the Grickle Channel today! Please watch "Soup Leprechaun" if you haven't already! And spread the word and links and stuff to any and all who you think might be entertained by such depravity! I thank you in advance.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/A9au3KFLXX8" width="560"></iframe>
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Whenever I publish a new cartoon I get to enjoy that short lived rush of internet gush! That brief moment of satisfaction where you feel like it's "me"! It's "me" time! Everyone's looking at "me"! And inside you're giggling like a school girl. And then after about 5 minutes, amidst a flurry of comments and reactions, the internet moves on and you're left alone again. Left to begin trying to conjure up another idea that might garner you some "me" time.<br />
<br />
You need more ideas.<br />
<br />
Ideas.<br />
<br />
I love them. I love when they show up.<br />
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Ideas are rocks. When you first conceive of them it's like picking up a rough stone. You hold it in your hand. You own it. You have it. But it's rough. The rock is right but the texture is too course. It needs to get smoothed out. So you begin to turn that little piece of stone over in your hand. You worry it. You think about the idea and you turn the rock over. And over. And over. Until all your holding and worrying begin to smooth out the surface. Sometimes you need a break from holding the rock so you put it in your pocket. Or you put it on a shelf. Maybe the next day you pull the rock out of your pocket again. Or maybe a year from now you take it back off the shelf. And begin turning it over in your hand again. Eventually it gets smooth enough that you decide to make the idea.<br />
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That's how I always perceive ideas when I get them.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXFHlo-UMoVln3oYZZ-Kc-tN2YkDWlDovTo_TpeIRgVa2mUBQ2lucALm9fF-nBEd3c3VddW8BPZbjHAX-xQz_ccIEEpyneNcCzw4WQCxe_XeITC9FjxNnI8mrWlhksH1cmayMG/s1600/BlogDoo09_RockIdea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXFHlo-UMoVln3oYZZ-Kc-tN2YkDWlDovTo_TpeIRgVa2mUBQ2lucALm9fF-nBEd3c3VddW8BPZbjHAX-xQz_ccIEEpyneNcCzw4WQCxe_XeITC9FjxNnI8mrWlhksH1cmayMG/s320/BlogDoo09_RockIdea.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Sometimes, of course, a perfectly smooth rock comes crashing through your window and hits you on the side of the temple. That's essentially the "Soup Leprechaun." It was pretty much as smooth as it was going to get the minute I saw that rock. Rarely that happens. But sometimes it just does. I have no idea who threw that rock. But I'm glad they did.<br />
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Next month's Halloween short "The Webb" is a rock I've been worrying in my hand for nearly 4 years.<br />
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Get ready. grickleguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16772984282658197030noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22937804.post-84977378476331157922015-09-08T14:30:00.000-07:002015-09-08T14:30:17.109-07:00Non laboring aka non labouring.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2ybS1agEriqvefvaFDe_ovTu2C8q5tTYuAkq7797PymyRkiJUrsQhy3-XZNRC7ulpHKybtJlskqOisMRoN1jMfEPlAO6VRdnUVuSFD_tf2BSLzWYetS-QHaZL9hfGQEtNj-kA/s1600/BlogDoo08_LaborDay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2ybS1agEriqvefvaFDe_ovTu2C8q5tTYuAkq7797PymyRkiJUrsQhy3-XZNRC7ulpHKybtJlskqOisMRoN1jMfEPlAO6VRdnUVuSFD_tf2BSLzWYetS-QHaZL9hfGQEtNj-kA/s320/BlogDoo08_LaborDay.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
Labor day weekend just finished. Or as I used to say when I lived in Canada, "Labour Day is over."<br />
<br />
And as a result I did very little laboring. <br />
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Including prepping a new blog post for this week. My apologies on that.<br />
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In lieu of a fresh new topic, I will instead ramble out a few words and post Grickle vines you may or may not have already seen. Stuff like this:<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="600" src="https://vine.co/v/etgFQqv79YT/embed/simple" width="600"></iframe><script src="https://platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js"></script>
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Or even things like this:
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="600" src="https://vine.co/v/eIFwiL3v6qB/embed/simple" width="600"></iframe><script src="https://platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js"></script>
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And for the few rambling words, this is what I've got.<br />
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Next week, September 15th on Tuesday morning at about 8am (PST) "Soup Leprechaun" will officially debut on the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqz4lWE_7FjyIzkO_9KM6KA?view_as=subscriber">Grickle Channel</a>!<br />
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Be ready. Tell your friends. Spread the word.<br />
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That is all.<br />
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Enjoy your post Labor Day weekend week doing all your laboring, everyone. grickleguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16772984282658197030noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22937804.post-85158872292639918382015-09-01T10:03:00.000-07:002015-09-01T10:03:27.941-07:00Master of Horror<br />
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I'm not a fast reader. I'm pretty sure I'm not even a good reader. My snail pace doesn't actually allow me to retain more deeply the words I'm reading. I'm just slow.<br />
<br />
But I like to read.<br />
<br />
When I try to think back to why I like to read it's no surprise that comics were the start. I've always loved comics. At an early age I was specifically hooked on Peanuts. And not so much the daily strip in the paper, although I certainly paid attention to that, I was addicted to the paperback collections. I hoarded as many of those books as I could. Charles Schulz cemented the type of humor and pacing I appreciate nowadays. I also gathered as many Archie digests as I could get my hands on. My childhood bookshelf basically consisted of mangled Peanuts paperbacks, Archie digests, a bunch of Savage Sword of Conan magazines, and an entire run of the Funk & Wagnell's encyclopedia set above it. I'd dip into the encyclopedias on rare occasions but not often. And we were missing the "N" book for some reason.<br />
<br />
But I digress.<br />
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It took me awhile to warm up to full on novels. Pictures were important to me. Balloon-filled bits of dialog seemed much less intimidating than walls of text with no end in sight. The first no picture books I really read on my own were a series of dog stories written by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Kjelgaard">Jim Kjelgaard</a>. They mostly focused on hunting dogs and how they get separated from their owners and had a crazy adventure in the wilderness. The titles were simple. "Big Red", "Snow Dog", and "Stormy"to name a few. Conan comics moved me into the world of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_E._Howard">Robert E. Howard</a> and the Conan novels. The Frazetta covers that housed the paperback reprints of the day totally suckered me into reading them. Anything that had images that cool on the front just had to be amazing reading inside! They mostly held up in retrospect.<br />
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But what truly launched me into a lifetime of reading was Stephen King. I grew up in his hey day. King of the paperbacks. Master of Horror. It seemed like every week he had a new book that debuted at #1 on the bestsellers list.<br />
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Up until that time I don't know if I even liked horror particularly. I appreciated the Twilight Zone and stuff like that but I didn't actively seek out tales of terror. The first Stephen King novel I read was "Salem's Lot". A friend had read it and kept pushing it on the rest of our gang of buddies. Sort of a dare. He'd read an adult scary story, could any of us 'man up' and handle it? There was some stressed looks exchanged but after a few days some of the guys started reading it. After internalizing on it for awhile I finally bought my own used copy at a local bookstore. I didn't read it right away. I kept studying the cover trying to decide it if it was worth my time. <br />
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That drop of blood. The all-black cover. I was intimidated. It seemed really scary! And it took me so long just to read short stories by Robert E. Howard. This book was huge. It was going to take forever!<br />
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I finally dove in.<br />
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Once I started I couldn't stop. I'd never read something that was so legitimately a 'pager-turner' like Salem's Lot. It still took me a long time to read it but I never noticed. I was so immersed in the world that Mr. King had laid out that time was irrelevant.<br />
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Salem's Lot began a routine of the next 5 or so years of my life where I sat curled up in our living room, listening to cassettes and reading until my eyes were crossed. I pored through Carrie, The Shining, Christine, Night Shift, Different Seasons, Firestarter, Cujo, and the ultimate victory for me, The Stand.<br />
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The size of The Stand was truly monumental in my slow reading world. When I finished that book I felt like I'd truly done something with my life. Anyone who could read a story that physically thick and over a thousand pages was truly a worthy human being. It gave me the courage to pull the tattered copy of Shogun off our cottage shelf the next summer and complete it. Nothing could stop me now. <br />
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At a certain point, whether it was just my age, or King's writing hitting a plateau of sorts, or both, I got off the Master of Horror's train. I remember clearly that it was after finishing "It" that I'd decided it was time to move on.<br />
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I never lost my appreciation for horror stories or my love of reading and for that Stephen King will always hold a special place in my literary heart. <br />
<br />
I think he may have even slightly increased my reading speed. Just a smidge.<br />
<br />grickleguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16772984282658197030noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22937804.post-8406743748214639822015-08-25T09:25:00.002-07:002015-08-25T09:25:40.550-07:00Best drawer.Good day!<br />
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I was mulling over what to write this week and I as I started sifting through past memories and events I came upon one that I'm sure most others in my profession can relate to.<br />
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<br />
Being the best drawer.<br />
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For a good chunk of time I believe I held that title in my Northern Ontario elementary school. A solid run from about Grade 2 to Grade 8. I don't think I was cocky about it, but I sure did like having a 'thing' that set me apart from others.<br />
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It first dawned on me that I held this crown when I got my turn as student of the week in Grade 2. Each week our teacher would arbitrarily pick someone in the class as 'Student of the week'. This meant a small photo of you was pasted onto colored construction paper and then everyone in the class would write something nice about you around the photo. It was then pinned up on a board for all to see for the entire week.<br />
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When my turn happened I was surprised to see that nearly every comment was the same. "Best drawer". "Good at drawing", "I like his drawings", "He's good at drawing dinosaurs", "Excellent drawer", etc. <br />
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That was the moment I realized I might be the best drawer. <br />
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It was a good feeling. And as much as I didn't like a lot of attention, I did enjoy my drawings getting attention. My focus at that time was mostly reptile in nature. I got pretty good at drawing snakes, particularly rattlesnakes and cobras. I always remembered to put those markings on the back of the hood of the cobra and I was very meticulous in drawing each segment of the rattle on the rattlesnake. I also did my fair share of dinosaurs. Usually that epic battle scene between triceratops and the mighty tyrannosaurus rex that was so popular in the late 1970's.<br />
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As I grew a bit older I expanded my skills into rendering Spider-Man swinging through mostly blank space (I really hated drawing buildings, still do) and NHL goalies making all variety of dramatic saves. I remember being so stoked when I submitted a Red Wings goalie stacking the pads to the local paper and it was actually printed in the "Kid's space" section the following week! My name and grade school were printed right below it. Further proof that I was indeed the best drawer.<br />
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As I mentioned earlier I never felt I got a swelled head about the whole thing but I will admit I got fairly comfortable with being the 'best' when it came to drawing. It was just what happened whenever I touched pencil to paper. The best. No big deal, just nature taking its course.<br />
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Then it happened.<br />
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My parents took my sister and I over to friends who lived on the other side of town. Their son was a year older than me. We didn't see each other that often but when we did we always got along well. He was a super interesting and crazy smart kid. Back when most kids hoarded Star Wars action figures, he had all these elaborate historical toys, figurines of classic knights and conquerors of the past. And he actually knew all the context behind them. Super smart guy. We'd usually just hang out in his room and get up to weird stuff like putting models together while listening to music on his stereo (he had his OWN stereo at the age of 10!). Sometimes we'd eat dog food. He convinced me that it actually tasted awesome and so we'd share a batch in his room that he'd snuck from the downstairs kitchen. His parents must have always been confused at why their dog went through food so quickly.<br />
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But this particular visit we didn't hang out in his room. Instead he invited me over to a nearby buddy's house to go do some drawing. My parents gave me the okay so we headed out.<br />
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When we got there I was greeted by another kid who was a year or two older than me and he seemed equally odd and smart like my friend. I still remember him looking a little chubby in a striped shirt and beckoning us in. Soon we were downstairs at a table, listening to music and enjoying some soda. There was a stack of blank paper and pencils ready to go. My friend and his buddy seemed very methodical about their drawing time and stated that we were going to be spending the afternoon illustrating airplanes. Specifically World War 1 era planes. I was a little confused by the exactness of our drawing mission. Usually when I drew there wasn't an outlined agenda that needed to be adhered to. If I was in a dinosaur mood I'd starting cranking out triceratops or get a little crazy and maybe pull out a stegosaurus. If it felt like more of a hockey type day I'd whip up a Tony Espo or Ken Dryden saving the game in overtime. Never before had I been with kids who organized drawing time in such a rigid fashion. "Oh well" I thought, this shouldn't be a big deal. I can draw some planes with these guys. It'll be cool. Something different for the best drawer to try his hand at. <br />
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So for the next 10 minutes the room fell into silence as we all began drawing our WW 1 airplanes. I noticed the other two had flipped open some reference books as they worked on their renditions. I wasn't much for reference at the time. I liked to just wing it. It was a more freeing feeling to just come up with the image that was cooking in my head instead of weighing it down by sticking to some pre-drawn image that was in front of me. I mean what's the sense of doing someone else's drawing, right? It's already been drawn by someone else, why make another one?<br />
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I started with a propeller first and then began drawing the body of the plane. I really didn't know anything about World War 1. I kind of suspected that Snoopy had been involved in it? I was pretty sure he'd mentioned World War 1 when he was fighting that Red Barn or Baron guy in Peanuts? That's about all the info I had to go on. So I added some wings and tried to draw a little pilot guy steering it. I will admit it was kind of a weird looking plane. And you'd be hard pressed to say what era it was from. But it looked pretty plane-like to me and creative, so I felt it was impressive enough to stand on its own merits.<br />
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As we all slid our finished drawings to the middle of the table for a little art review, I didn't feel any sort of anxiety at all. I was always the best drawer and nature would take it's usual path. <br />
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My blood froze when I saw the other two drawings.<br />
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The detail they'd both put into their planes! The linework and sophisticated design. The accuracy of the dimensions. Their drawings looked like they belonged in a professional history book on airplanes! They were perfect!<br />
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My strange lumpy airplaney vehicle stood out like an abomination beside their shining examples of wartime flight of the early 20th century. <br />
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There was a brief moment of silence as we all took it in. Then the laughing began. I don't think they intended it maliciously at all. It was just the utter shock of seeing my contribution relative to theirs. The complete unexpectedness of it. If I hadn't been so thrown off by this appalling reversal of nature I suppose I might have found the humor in it as well. But instead I felt for the first time ever, total shame and humiliation in my drawing abilities. I couldn't hang with these guys and their specific World War 1 era drawing skills. I was not the best drawer. Not by a long shot.<br />
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That was a tough but good life lesson. I realized, with some amount of pain, that I had been a big ignorant fish in a very small pond of other fish who mostly didn't bother drawing. And outside of that pond was a large ocean that contained highly skilled creatures who very much did like to draw and were quite adept at it.<br />
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It was good to know this and be aware of this.<br />
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I think it allowed me to survive art college and weather a career in animation. <br />
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As harrowing as that experience was I never did falter in my drawing. I enjoyed doing it too much. I continued to stick with dinosaurs, Spider-Man, and goalies and eventually into heavy metal covers and comic characters of my own creation.<br />
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But I will admit it was a long time before I tried my hand again at drawing a bi-plane or any plane for that matter. <br />
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I'm sure many of you who were former or are currently the 'best drawers' can relate.<br />
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Oh! I wanted to mention that I've strung together all my early Monkey Scream cartoons on the Grickle Channel. The resolution is better than in the original uploads from years past and I added in a little special Monkey Intermission bit to help spice it up (and to provide a slight reprieve from the onslaught of monkey screams.) Enjoy!<br />
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<br />grickleguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16772984282658197030noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22937804.post-53202350816947419062015-08-17T11:48:00.002-07:002015-08-17T11:49:27.138-07:00The world I live in.Hello.<br />
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Every now and again, or actually quite often, I'm reminded about how little I know about the world around me. How I just function in my tiny narrow splinter of the overall pie that is this planet. Regularly using machines and inventions I have absolutely no clue about their inner workings. Or very vague overviews that I never really put to the test.<br />
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I was driving to an appointment the other day when my car did an a most alarming thing. Driving over a major bridge it began to scream at me. Not audibly but in text. The world had been perfectly normal one instant but in the next I was looking at my dashboard doing this!:<br />
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My car had never screamed at me before.<br />
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It completely unnerved me.<br />
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My stomach sunk into my shoes and my veins turned to ice. Things had been fine a second ago! Why? Why this, now? Didn't my car realize I HAD to get to this appointment? I was on a bridge. I couldn't just pull over. I began to try and subdue the panic inside. How bad was it really? Maybe just an internal computer glitch? Right? My car was just mistakenly crying "wolf"! I'm sure I could just keep going to my appointment. It was only 7 minutes away at this point. Car, you're just going to have to tough it out. We can talk about this later. Suck it up.<br />
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I kept driving. The motor sounded normal. The temperature gauge stayed in the middle. Everything was fine.<br />
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Except for the screaming.<br />
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Then I began to notice the distinct smell of melted plastic. That's not good. The car WASN'T just crying "wolf". This was real. This was happening right now! I was now a mere 3 minutes away from my destination. C'mon car. Keep it together. We can get there! <br />
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I was coated in a sheen of sweat. I kept imagining pulling into the parking lot and this would happen: <br />
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Thankfully I made it without bursting into an apocalyptic ball of flames.<br />
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I turned the key off and breathed a huge sigh of relief.<br />
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I went to my appointment as if nothing had happened. There was no indication on my face that I'd just challenged the Reaper and escaped without a scratch.<br />
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Later I spent the next 15 minutes just figuring out where the latch thingie was to open up the hood. As I peered into the sophisticated machinery of my vehicle I saw that the coolant tank, which had just recently been replaced, had a hose clamp-mijigger that looked loose. Coolant was lightly dripping from the connection point. Aha! That's the culprit I deduced.<br />
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I put the hood down and proceeded to drive the short distance home. Ignoring my car's screams as I went.<br />
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I then left the car in the driveway for the next week to punish it for scaring me so.<br />
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Once I felt it had learned it's lesson I topped off the coolant tank with water and brought it back to my mechanic's where they securely sealed the clamp-mijgger up.
Everything has been running smoothly since.<br />
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Some days I have no idea how I have managed to live this long on this planet. So little knowledge for having spent so much time here. grickleguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16772984282658197030noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22937804.post-80730002521107214122015-08-11T11:45:00.000-07:002015-08-11T11:45:09.801-07:00Burning hot!Hello everyone!<br />
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I hope your week is on a pleasant course! I wanted to draw your attention, if I may, to the newest addition on the Grickle Channel, "Dreams of Venus"! It debuted at 8am this morning and has been burning up views ever since. A direct link to the cartoon is here:<br />
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I love the sound of a raging fire and I think that had a lot to do with why this one ended up the way it did. The fury and intensity of that sound is unrivaled. Hopefully this cartoon feels like a good slap in the face with a fireball. But without all the scarring and pain.<br />
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And I've got more on the back burner coming! As a few select number of you noticed, "Soup Leprechaun" made a brief, mistaken appearance on the channel last evening. I was attempting to test some stuff and inadvertently put the cartoon up 'live'. Oops! For those of you who missed it, don't worry! I'll be posting "Soup Leprechaun" in September!<br />
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Hang tight!grickleguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16772984282658197030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22937804.post-24376801098515018372015-08-03T14:59:00.001-07:002015-08-03T14:59:11.684-07:00Boardwalkin' and ViningHello!<br />
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Sorry I missed last week everybody! I went away on vacation and the thought of typing out a new blog post on my phone seemed incredibly daunting. So I didn't.<br />
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But I'm back now! And with a fresh new post! About.... uhh... errr... about this how-to time lapse doodle video I created!<br />
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Neat, eh? I may try doing more of these in the future. Even just selecting the music alone is worth the effort!<br />
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I've been continuing to create new Vines as well. The latest was titled "Pug banker". A 6 second glimpse into the life of this little fella crunching his numbers.<br />
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Hard working pugs always crack me up. Beyond drawing pugs on vacation I didn't do a whole lot.<br />
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Oh! But I will mention Boardwalk Empire! <br />
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I've always been a fan of Steve Buscemi's work. All the way back to seeing him in a small role in Jim Jarmusch's <a href="https://youtu.be/nb0yBDSqTfs">'Mystery Train'</a>.<br />
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Top notch character actor.<br />
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But as a main character?<br />
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Wow.<br />
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I spent a good chunk of my vacation watching the Boardwalk Empire series and have been loving it! I'd watched the first few episodes a couple of years back but it didn't, for whatever reason, really grab me at the time. Now I can't watch it fast enough! Currently at just the halfway point of the 3rd season. So no spoilers please! :)<br />
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Also started reading "To Kill a Mocking Bird" for the first time. I don't know how I managed to avoid reading this classic up until now. As expected, it's great writing! I don't know all the details about the hub bub with "To Set a Watchman" but I'm not going to let that taint my experience with the first novel. I plan to finish the book and then sit and watch the Gregory Peck movie.<br />
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The rest of my summer is set! :)<br />
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Alright I'll wrap up this week's post here.<br />
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Don't forget! I've got a brand new Grickle cartoon called "Dreams of Venus" that will be debuting next week exclusively on the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/grickle">Grickle Channel! </a><br />
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Till later! <br />
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<br />grickleguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16772984282658197030noreply@blogger.com2